When it comes to managing a workplace, efficiency is the name of the game. Cumbersome protocol takes time to execute and pulls time away from productivity, ultimately resulting in net losses across the board. Having the right tools is the difference between not saving money and saving money. Using those tools effectively can increase efficiency. Here is a list of techniques to help boost efficiency and productivity in the workplace.
Lose the Clutter
If you’ve ever seen the popular television show Hoarders, you know that clutter is the source of a hundred kinds of misery. Tidying up a workplace may seem like an arbitrary way to become more efficient, but having less “stuff” in your area is a visual and mental reminder that there is a task to complete. Whereas a space packed with the banal minutiae of life –coffee receipts, to-do lists, banana peels – is designed to pull you away from what you should be doing.
Investigate Software Alternatives
Loss of productivity is often due to inefficient software. If your business is dependent on the use of a program or software suite that is buggy or slow you may as well be shooting your productivity out of the sky. If you recognize that software is holding you back, investigate alternatives; box office managers may look into new ticketing software, small practices may look into more efficient medical billing software. I recently started using the program Grandview to write and the stripped down, minimalist interface has certainly boosted my productivity.
Subtract Distractions
Easier said than done, to be sure, but if you have a project to complete by a certain time, and you are watching Youtube videos of Bengal cats talking to “get your jollies out” or “psych up” for the work ahead, you’re not kidding anyone but yourself, and even then, not really. If you can do without it, lose the Internet. Find a spot to work elsewhere – outside in a park, or in a gentle copse – which will help focus your attention on the matter at hand. If that is too drastic – not everyone can just leave the office – simply close your web browser. Maintain self-control.
Prioritize
Efficiency can be increased by simply focusing on the most important things you must do. And then doing them! Breaking up big tasks with smaller ones does help to an extent, but don’t sweat the small stuff when there are bigger fish to fry.
